Boys' Series

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last updated September 11, 2000

Boys Big Game Series Bret King  Chip Hilton and Clair Bee 
Dave Dawson Ellery Queen, Jr. The Rover Boys

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The Boys Big Game Series, by Elliott Whitney, has 13 titles, and went through several printings. Vols. 1 through 8 were first published by Reilly & Britton Co. and feature a brown cloth binding with colorful pictorial front and spine. Reilly & Lee published the entire series (firsts of 9 through 13) with similar binding, but varying cloth colors. Then, in 1936, R&L reissued eight titles (#s1 through 7 and #12), changing the titles, and using a lower quality paper & grey cloth binding. Finally, in a similar format to the last one, Whitman issued four titles in their "Whitman 2300" series (#s 7, 8, 9 and 12). All the editions were issued with dust jackets.

Elliott Whitney is the pseudonym for various authors who penned titles in this series. In the listing of titles below, the real authors' names are listed. (Note, however, that the author for #11, Evan R. Chesterman, was listed as the actual writer of that book.)

  1. The Giant Moose - 1912, H. L. Sayler
  2. The King Bear of Kadiak Island - 1912, H. L. Sayler
  3. The White Tiger of Nepal - 1912, H. L. Sayler
  4. The Blind Lion of the Congo - 1912, H. L. Sayler
  5. The Rogue Elephant - 1912, H. L. Sayler (or, possibly, George N. Madison)
  6. The Pirate Shark - 1914, George N. Madison
  7. The King Condor of the Andes - 1915, George N. Madison
  8. The Black Fox of the Yukon - 1917, George N. Madison
  9. The Bobcat of Jump Mountain - 1920, Evan R. Chesterman
  10. The Crazy Elk of Terrapin Swamp - 1921, H. Bedford Jones
  11. The Lady Dragon of Dancing Point - 1922, Evan R. Chesterman
  12. The Saber-Tusk Walrus - 1923, H. Bedford Jones
  13. The Boss of the Bighorn, 1924, H. Bedford Jones

The Bret King Mystery Stories by Dan Scott were published by Grosset and Dunlap in the early sixties. Dan Scott is another of those Stratemeyer Syndicate House names; the real author is S[quire] Omar Barker, noted western poet and author. His Western Life and Adventures: 1889 to 1970 tells the story of his own life, the events of which continue to inspire cowboy poets of today. (Interesting side note: Elliott Barker, S. Omar's brother, is the father of "Smokey the Bear," creating this symbol when he discovered the singed little bear cub, survivor of a forest fire.

The original format of the Bret King series was a light brown tweed in dust jacket; it was later reissued in picture cover. Titles include:

  1. The Mystery of Ghost Canyon, 1960
  2. The Secret of Hermit's Peak, 1960
  3. The Range Rodeo Mystery, 1960
  4. The Mystery of Rawhide Gap, 1960
  5. The Mystery at Blizzard Mesa, 1960
  6. The Secret of Fort Pioneer, 1961
  7. The Mystery of the Comanche Caves, 1962
  8. The Phantom of Wolf Creek, 1963
  9. The Mystery of Bandit Gulch, 1964

The Chip Hilton Sports Stories were written by Claire Bee, "one of the top basketball coaches in the country," according to a blurb on the back of one of the Chip Hilton jackets. This isn't an exaggeration -- in fact, in 1967 he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as an outstanding contributer to the game. He coached hoops at Long Island University, and was their coach in 1936 when the team, made up largely of Jewish players, boycotted the Olympic basketball trials of 1936. Under Bee, this same team had won 32 consecutive games that year.

While the Grosset & Dunlap jacket bio gives his birth date as 1900, an entry in "Who's Who in Sports Personalities" in the Random House Dictionary Almanac states that Bee was born in 1896, and died in 1983. He attended high school in Grafton, West Virginia, and captained the football, basketball and baseball teams. In college, he lettered in those three sports as well as in tennis. It's no wonder his 23 Chip Hilton Sports stories are so collectible today; the man really knew what he was writing about. The books were published by Grosset & Dunlap from 1948 to 1966. Books 1 through 6 were originally issued in bright red boards with dust jacket; volumes 1 through 19 came out in dj editions also, but the books' covers were a light red tweed; all the books were reissued in picture covers, with an orange spine.

  1. Touchdown Pass, 1948
  2. Championship Ball, 1948
  3. Strike Three, 1949
  4. Clutch Hitter, 1949
  5. Hoop Crazy, 1950
  6. Pitchers' Duel, 1950
  7. A Pass and a Prayer, 1951
  8. Dugout Jinx, 1952
  9. Freshman Quarterback, 1952
  10. Backboard Fever, 1953
  11. Fence Busters, 1953
  12. Ten Seconds to Play, 1955
  13. Fourth Down Showdown, 1956
  14. Tournament Crisis, 1957
  15. Hardcourt Upset, 1958
  16. Pay-off Pitch, 1958
  17. No-hitter, 1959
  18. Triple-threat Trouble, 1960
  19. Backcourt Ace, 1961
  20. Buzzer Basket, 1962
  21. Comeback Cagers, 1963
  22. Home Run Feud, 1964
  23. Hungry Hurler, 1966

Dave Dawson, or The War Adventure Series, by R[obert] Sidney Bowen. Two editions published by Crown, reprinted by Saalfield. All three types feature various colored cloth covers, some plain, some with an aviator's head in the center of front; no illustrations; pictorial dust jacket on white coated paper, different art for each of the 15 titles.

Dave Dawson ...

  1. at Dunkirk, 1941Dawson dj
  2. with the RAF
  3. in Libya, 1941
  4. on Convoy Patrol, 1941
  5. at Singapore, 1942
  6. Flight Lieutenant, 1941
  7. with the Pacific Fleet, 1942
  8. with the Air Corps, 1942
  9. with the Commandos, 1942
  10. on the Russian Front, 1943
  11. with the Flying Tigers, 1943
  12. on Guadacanal, 1943
  13. at Casablanca, 1944
  14. with the Eighth Air Force, 1944
  15. at Truk, 1946

and, #16, a phantom title [not published]: Dave Dawson over Berlin.

Dave Dawson at Sixty, by Rev. Iain Macdonald

R. Sydney Bowen published some 15 titles in this action thriller series, which enjoyed wide sales during and immediately after the war years. Sixty years later there are not many copies left, but one occasionally finds a couple of titles in used book stores, relics of an aging generation's move to quarters too small for books long unread.

Dave Dawson is a young American whose adventures begin when he finds himself stranded in Paris as conquering German armies march west in late May, 1940. Hence the first title, Dave Dawson at Dunkirk. He falls in with a young Englishman— Freddy Farmer— and the two manage together to make their escape back to England, in the process uncovering the Nazi assault plan and unmasking several spies.

They impress, and earn the gratitude of senior Intelligence commanders, whom they continue thereafter to serve on a number of special missions. These usually involve flying about in the aircraft of the time, fighting to stamp out one conspiracy after another which would have turned the war the wrong way. And they all involve a title of the form, Dave Dawson at or with the theatre of war involved.

This is not Stendahl, nor Tolstoy, writing about war. It is wartime propaganda gone literate for boys. It is Tom Swift brought up to date with its fascination for the technical toys of 1940s aviation; with an added touch of the Hardy Boys in uniform for its cardboard characters and fast-paced, credible action, based on pluck plus luck. It's a formula series, but a good one. The war history is accurate, although it occasionally reveals how much information was kept back for postwar historians to divulge.

The series offers a collector three attractions.

The first is pure nostalgia for those of us old enough to recall the war years— especially as a young boy. For the environment described is as things were in an age when most roads in North America were still gravel roads, the bread, milk and ice came by horse, and relatives were away dying in places you were learning about for the first time.

Whether set in Britain, where some of the stories take place, or in the US, the attitudes expressed are those of the period, unsophisticated and often funny, but full of the uneasy, painful hatred and violence of war. Nazis are nasty, cruel, cowardly and treacherous. Russians are sublimely patriotic and even religious. The war leaders, including Stalin, are awe-inspiring, wonderful giants of confidence, generosity of spirit, and conscience.

The second is a lesson in how to write well for youth without writing down. There are colloquialisms for authenticity in the dialogue. But there are none in Bowen's own description. Cliches, indeed, abound, but have the charm of period; overall, the language is excellent.

The third advantage is sheer affordability. I am told there are only 15 titles, and they are still obtainable for under $10 each, and in fairly good condition at that. But this is not a series likely to be reissued, so I keep my copies in fond hope of appreciation at an eventual resale, when some university library in the south somewhere will find mine the last surviving copies for an abundantly endowed archive.

[ Rev. Macdonald has managed to acquire eight of the Dave Dawson titles to replace the set he used to have. These vanished in the course of family moves during the late '40s. To contact Iain Macdonald for discussion about the Dave Dawson series, or if you'd like to offer a missing title, you can e-mail him at: iain.macdonald@ns.sympatico.ca ]

The Ellery Queen Jr. Mystery Stories - This series, for many years, was thought to have been written by cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee, the writers of the (adult) Ellery Queen Mystery Series. (Dannay and Lee are pseudonyms for, respectively, Daniel Nathan and Manford Lepofsky.)

In May of 1998, Jack Santore wrote an article in the Yellowback Library, Number 167, pp.12-13, stating definitely that this was not so.

The "Djuna" Mysteries, a set of 9 titles from the E.Q.Jr. series, is generally believed to have been written by James Holding, who wrote for Alfred Hitchcock's, Ellery Queen's, and Mike Shayne's Mystery Magazines, under the names Ellery Queen and Clark Carlisle, (Holding's real name). His authorship of all 9 Ellery Queen, Jr. titles is, however, in dispute.

According to a listing in the catalogues of the Princeton University Library, (http://libweb2.princeton.edu/rbsc2/aids/msslist/colls2.htm) some titles appear to have been written by Samuel Duff McCoy (1882-1964), Princeton University, class of 1905.

The Princeton collection of Samuel McCoy's papers consist of "correspondence, notes, and selected manuscripts ... ranging from his writings as an investigative reporter in the early 1900s to his later works as a novelist, biographer, and children's author under the name of Ellery Queen, Jr. Included are typescripts, outlines, and manuscript notes for 3 nonfiction works, 10 mystery novels, 25 short stories ... and autobiographical and miscellaneous notes."

The Black Dog Mystery (1941) and The White Elephant Mystery (1950) from the Ellery Queen Jr. series are listed in the collection's description as "among the published titles." Also listed is The Mystery of Pickle Point, J. B. Lippencott, 1948, which is the first of two titles in another published mystery series, the J. J. Jenks Mysteries. The second title of this series, The Mystery at Robber's Rock, is not mentioned in the brief description.

However, in the Library of Congress catalogue, Samuel Dunn McCoy is credited as the author of these two books, with no mention of a pseudonym.

(I would like to thank John Herrington, of Woodbridge, Suffolk, for kindly bringing to my attention the information about Samuel McCoy. If any readers have more to add about the authorship of this series, please let me know at bksleuth@garden.net.)

I have also received an 'e' from Peter Ruber, who wrote that "Pulp fiction writer Frank Belknap Long wrote at least two of [the Ellery Queen Jr. books]. I have this on the authority of several Long letters to August Derleth. Unfortunately, no titles were mentioned."

(Does anyone else have any information about the Frank Belknap Long connection?)

The Djuna series was originally published by Frederick A. Stokes Co. (#s 1 & 2), Lippincott (#s 1 - 4), and Little, Brown (#s 5 - 9). All nine titles were reprinted by Grosset & Dunlap, in hard cover format, with dust jacket, and issued in paperback by Comet of Scholastic (except for the last title, which to date has not been seen in paperback).

  1. The Black Dog Mystery - 1941
  2. The Golden Eagle Mystery - 1942
  3. The Green Turtle Mystery - 1944
  4. The Red Chipmunk Mystery - 1946
  5. The Brown Fox Mystery - 1947
  6. The White Elephant Mystery - 1950
  7. The Yellow Cat Mystery - 1952
  8. The Blue Herring Mystery - 1954
  9. The Purple Bird Mystery - 1965

But wait -- what about those other two alliterative titles from the '60s, issued by Golden Press with that distinctive blue-diamond spine?

  1. The Mystery of the Merry Magician - 1961
  2. The Mystery of the Vanished Victim - 1962

I've found these, generally, a bit easiser to find than the other nine (especially the 9th title -- if you find that to add to your colletion, you have cause to rejoice.)

Here is a list of other children's books written by James Holding which you might also enjoy:

  1. The Lazy Little Zulu - 1962 (Morrow)
  2. Mr. Moonlight and Omar - 1963 (Morrow)
  3. Cato the Kiwi Bird - 1963 (Putnam)
  4. The Mystery of the False Fingertips - 1964 (Harper)
  5. Sherlock on the Trail - 1964 (Morrow)
  6. Three Wishes of Hu - 1965 (Putnam)
  7. Poko and the Golden Demon - 1968 (Abelard)
  8. The Mystery of Dolphin Inlet - 1968 (MacMillan)
  9. Robber of Featherbed Lane - 1970 (Putnam)
  10. A Bottle of Pop - 1970 (Putnam)

(For more information about this series, check out Jack Santore's article in the Yellowback Library, May 1998, Number 167, pp.12-13.)

AND (Thanks to Terry M. Weiner, and Peter Ruber who have contributed clues regarding the authorship of this series!)

Rover Boys djThe Rover Boys, written by Edward Stratemeyer under the pseudonym Arthur M. Winfield, is one of the most popular boys' series ever. Comprised of 30 titles, originally published from 1899 to 1926, and reprinted well into the 40's, it was divided into designated first & second series, the second beginning with Volume 21. The series has a checkered publishing history, with over 12 formats listed by Mattson & Davis in "A Collector's Guide to Hardcover Series Books."

Sometime around 1902-1904, Rover Boys 1-4 (at least) were printed by the John Wanamaker Dept. Store under the "Wanamaker Young People's Library" imprint.

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